Ophthalmic surgeries of the retina are often complicated by optical and physical barriers. For example, the anatomy and optical properties of the eye may obscure or obstruct the surgeon's view, particularly of the peripheral retina. The zone behind the iris (the colored portion of the eye) is obstructed from direct view. Consequently, the surgeon sometimes finds it helpful to have an assistant manually apply pressure or “depression” to the outside of the eye in order to bring the retina into adequate view to facilitate surgical manipulation.
Exemplary surgical techniques for which depression of the sclera may be helpful include removal of scar tissue and peripheral vitreous, laser photocoagulation techniques, addressing retinal tears or breaks and others.
The technique of manually applying pressure to the eye is not without problems. Assistants may be inexperienced or unable to properly apply pressure to aid the surgeon in visualization of the important peripheral pathology. Unexpected movement by the assistant may also cause problems for the surgeon and may be dangerous.
Furthermore, poor lighting of the surgical field often leads to complications during delicate intraocular surgical procedures. For example, inadequate lighting often impairs identification of small peripheral retinal breaks or tears.
For these and other reasons, what is needed is a method and system to allow a surgeon to control application of pressure to the sclera and improve visualization of the peripheral retina.